GUWAHATI, May 30: Keeping 2006 Assembly elections in view, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has started the process of rebuilding the party and a thorough review of the performance of the party in the last general elections will be held in a four-day meeting to be held from June 1. In the last general elections, the regional party under a new leadership managed to win two seats and the most notable achievement for the party is the victory of Sarbananda Sonowal from Dibrugarh constituency, known as the stronghold of the Congress. Sonowal managed to defeat the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Paban Singh Ghatowar in the polls. In fact the division in the traditional tea tribe vote bank of the Congress ensured the defeat of Ghatowar, who came third behind Sonowal and BJP candidate Kamakhya Prasad Tassa.
Though the AGP’s performance in the polls was much better than the previous two general elections, where the party failed to win even a single seat, the party leadership is planning to consolidate on the gains keeping the 2006 Assembly elections in mind. AGP general secretary Dilip Kumar Saikia said that the AGP would thoroughly examine different aspects of the last general elections in the meeting to be held in the party head office from June 1. All the executive members, district committee presidents and general secretaries, candidates who contested in the last general polls and members of the associate organisations will attend the meeting.
Saikia revealed that the district units of the party have been directed to bring full details of the performance of party candidates in each constituency and those would be examined in the meeting. He pointed out that barring the two suspended legislators, the AGP had 19 legislators at the time of the polls and the performance of the party candidates in the Assembly segments would be examined. It may be mentioned here that the candidates of the regional party fared poorly in the constituencies of several of the legislators and that aspect would come up during the four-day meeting. There were allegations of a few party functionaries and legislators failing to put their weight behind the candidates in the last general polls and this aspect would also come up for discussion. The AGP general secretary said that the meeting would evolve strategies to strengthen the regional party right from the grassroots level to face the 2006 Assembly polls.